January 28, 2012
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Warp Stabilizer
By Paul Davis in Film, Motion graphicsI have just started looking at stabilising some of my hand held footage from Nepal and found a great new plugin called Warp Stabilizer that’s new to Adobe After Effects CS5.5. Take a look at the following example:
To see more video clips from Nepal click here…
January 11, 2012
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Concept Ma
By Paul Davis in Design thinkingMa is not something that is created by compositional elements; it is the thing that takes place in the imagination of the human who experiences these elements. Therefore ma can be defined as experiential place understood with emphasis on interval.
Ma, (negatie space)
Ma Poetry
The concept of Ma
Ma A Japanese Concept
The concept of in-between
January 11, 2012
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Nepal shoot
By Paul Davis in Film, PhotographyI was in Nepal over Christmas on a commissioned photography shoot for Invesco Perpetual photographing and filming the mountain Ama Dablam in the Himalayas. Ama Dablam is one of the worlds tallest mountains at 6848m.
The production company that organised the shoot in both the Himalayas and Kathmandu was 24 Productions. The helicopter company was Fishtail Air and the pilot was Steven Bokan. During one of the flights we reached an altitude of 26,000 feet (7920m) enabling me to capture some stunning images of the mountain.
See the following links to view the photography:
Ama Dablam
Kathmandu
Lukla
All the footage and images were shot using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II. The following clip was shot using a GoPro head mounted camera.
Hooked up to a temperamental oxygen tank and experiencing temperatures of -30°C (not including wind chill) was a real attack on the senses, but shooting from a helicopter in one of the most beautiful places on earth was an amazing experience.
December 16, 2011
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Merry Christmas
By Paul Davis in FilmShot in Henley-on-Thames during the Christmas market on 2nd December 2011 to promote a children’s charity.
November 8, 2011
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The difference a lens makes
By Paul Davis in Photography, PortraitInteresting comparison, the effect a lens can have on a portrait shot.
Take a look
October 31, 2011
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Capturing sound on location
By Paul Davis in Film, SoundWhen recording sound directly into the camera use both channels but after setting the levels reduce the levels of the second channel as a failsafe. This can also be used to cover a larger range of dynamic sound i.e. whispering to shouting. The camera does have a limiter (always use) but it’s not recommended to rely on it.
When recording using a mixer you do not require the second track because the limiter is much better. You only really need to use a mixer when recording from multiple devices but it can be advantages to use one with a single Mic so you have more control over the levels.
Camera audio setup
Mixer setup
Psycho Acoustics – used to disorientate the viewer, build tension and discomfort.
When recording atmosphere use the same Mic setup and location as the shot. Two minutes is all that’s required for atmosphere as the audio can usually be easily looped.
Position of Mic. for mid shot – 50cm
Position of Mic. for close up – 10-15cm
When recording outside you can move further back because there is nothing to reflect the sound.
October 13, 2011
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The process of Screenwriting
By Paul Davis in Film, ScreenwritingThree questions to ask yourself with each scene:
What do we see?
What do we hear?
What do we feel?
The aim of the screenplay is to evoke images in the mind of the audience. The screen play is like the roadmap, everyone involved in the production will read it. Say it simple, strip it down and get to the heart of it…
Think of the script as in three acts, the start, middle and end. Some people write from the perspective of the character, some with an incident. Ask yourself would this be something you would enjoy watching? Discovery and creativity is in the act of writing.
Treatment or Outline:
Condensing your script into one page, usually used for pitch.
Card system:
Build up a wall of cards, each card represents a scene. Write extra details about each scene on the back of the card.
Danger in thinking about your audience, you can start second guessing your work. Try not to write too many technical instructions, this can take the reader out of the story and anger the director/cast. Keep your ideas private until you believe in them. Don’t include anything that you can’t see and only include things that are essential to the story.
Use dashes (-) to indicate the continuation of a shot, full stops to cut the shot.
October 12, 2011
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Colour Semiotics
By Paul Davis in Colour, Design thinkingMiddle East
Blue Protective
Black House of Kaaba (Revered Black Stone)
Gold Wealth, Tradition, Strength
Green Sacred colour of Islam
Green & Gold The colour of Paradise
Red Happiness, Prosperity
Asia
Blue Loyalty, Creativity
Black Intelligence, Style
Purple God, Wisdom
Yellow Healthy, Holiness
Blue/Green Vigor, Vitality
Gold Money, Heaven
Red Luck, Purity, Strength, Happiness, Success
Pink Healthy
October 12, 2011
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Additive colour theory
By Paul Davis in Colour, Design thinkingAdditive colour
Additive mixtures of light, the behaviour of light.
Subtractive colour
The behaviour of paint, ink, dye or pigment mixtures.
Lightness: light vs. dark, or white vs. black
Saturation: intense vs dull
Hue: red, orange, yellow, green, blue or purple
The visual impact of hues depend on the relative lightness and intensity of the hues.
Related to the observed contrast in landscape light, between the ‘warm’ colours associated with daylight or sunset and the ‘cool’ colours associated with gray or overcast day. Warm colours are hues from red through yellow, browns and tans. Cool colours are often are hues from blue green through blue violet, most grays included.
Warm colours arouse or stimulate the viewer, while cool colours calm and relax.
Complementary
Opposed two colours on the wheel for a simple theme based on two hues.
Achromatic colours
Any colour that lacks strong chromatic content is said to be unsaturated, achromatic or near neutral. Pure achromatic colours include black, white and all grays.
Monochromatic
Once colour with varied intensity and lightness in a single hue.
Compound
Combine interesting colours from multiple hues.
Shades
Create subtle variations of the base colour’s hue.
Neutrals
Neutrals are obtained by mixing pure colours with either white, black or grey, or by mixing two complementary colours. Neutral colours are easily modified by adjacent more saturated colours and they appear to take on the hue complementary to the saturated colour. Example, next to a bright red couch, a gray wall will appear greenish.
Black and white combine well with any colour. black increases the saturation or brightness and white shows off all hues to equal effect.
Tints and shades
When mixing coloured light, the achromatic mixture of spectrally balanced RGB is always white. Lights are made brighter or dimmer by adjusting their brightness, or energy level. In paint, lightness is adjusted through mixture with white, black or a colour’s complement.
Colour harmony and meaning
Colours seen together to produce a pleasing affective response are said to be in harmony. However colour harmony can be influenced by a range of factors including individual difference (age, gender, etc.), cultural and social, contextual, temporal and perceptual.
Conceptual model:
Color harmony = f (Col1,2,3,…,n) (ID + CE + CX + P + T)
Colour harmony is a function (f) of the interaction between colours (Col 1,2,3,…,n) and the factors that influence positive aesthetic response. Individual differences (ID), Context (CX) Perceptual (P) Time (T) in terms of prevailing social trends.
Juxtaposition of complementary colour will produce strong contrast, a sense of visual tension.
Juxtaposition of analogue colours will elicit positive aesthetic response.
Analogue Colours with adjacent hues (colours next to each other on the wheel) tend to produce a single-hued or monochromatic colour experience ‘simple harmonies’.
Split complementary colour schemes usually depict a range of analogue hues plus a key complementary colour.
A Triadic colour scheme adopts any three colours approximately equidistant around the colour wheel mode. Colours in a triangle around the wheel for a contrasting theme.